Vania



(No Model.) I I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1. T. R. SETTLES 8; G. H. SGHMITT.

MAKING PLATE GLASS No. 431,489. Patented July 1, 890;

(No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet. 2. T. R. SETTLES & G. H. SOHMITT.

MAKING PLATE GLASS.

No. 431,489. Patented July. 1, 1890 111: uomus n1; 00., monurma, WASNINGTDN, u. c.

(No Model.) 7 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. T. R. SETTL'ES & G. H. SGHMITT.

MAKING PLATE GLASS Patented July 1, 1890.

R vwewtozs a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS R. SETTLES AND GEORGE E. SOHMITT, OF TARENTUM, PENNSYL- I VANIA.

, MAKING PLATE-GLASS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,489, dated July 1, 1890.

Application filed February 13, 1890- $erial No. 340,358. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS R. SETTLES and GEORGE H. SOHMITT, citizens of the United States, residing at Tarentum, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Making Plate-Glass; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to glass manufacture,

and more particularly to the manufacture of plate-glass, although it can be used for other articles, as head-lights, &c. and it consists in the method of and apparatus for manufacturing the same at a less cost than heretofore, as will be hereinafter more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front perspective view of our improved press and casting-table. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same, taken from the rear. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a furnace or leer with the top removed and with our press arranged at one end. Fig. 4 is a side view of the mechanism for conveying the article from the press to the interior of the furnace. Fig. 5 is an end View of the same, showing a portion of the furnace; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the style of furnace we prefer to use. Fig. 7 is a top plan View of one of the sandpans; and Fig. 8 is a side View of the same, showing the rods for suspending the pans from the top of the furnace.

In manufacturing certain kinds of plateglass and similar articles it has heretofore been customary to spread the melted glass over the casting-table by means of a roller, which is drawn back and forth over it by the workmen; but it has been found that the glass which has been treated in this manner has its surface full of little waves or ridges, which are caused by the surface of the roller. In order to get rid of this unevenness, it is necessary to grind the glass until its surface is perfectly smooth, and then polish it, which requires great care and many hours of valuable time. To avoid this waste of time and material, we have discovered that the glass sheet can be formed bypressing it between two smooth iron or steel surfaces, which are made to gradually approach each other.

In carrying out our discovery and invention we use a casting-table 1, which is preferably made of steel or iron about eight inches thick, in the ordinary manner, upon which the glass is emptied from the covette as usual, the covette not being shown, as it forms no part of the invention. A heavy plate or press 2, of steel or iron, is made to approach the table in any suitable way, as by pivoting it at one end to the table by'means of links 3 3, which will permit of the plate approaching the table to a greater or less extent, and thus forming a thicker or thinner plate of glass, as desired. Side strips or gages 4i i are secured to the bottom of the press by means of clamps or set-screws, which regulate the thick ness of the plate of glass, and which can be also placed nearer to or farther from each other to regulate the width or size of the plate by preventing the glass from spreading laterally.

The free end of the press 2 is moved up and down above the table by means of-the cables 5 5, which can be wound upon and operated by any convenient drum or windlass, which is not shown. The lowerends of the cables are secured to a bar 6, which is secured to the free end of the press by means of the links 7 7, which are connected with the press by means of short bolts or pivots 8 8, similar to those by means of which the links 3 3 are secured to the lower or pivoted end of'the press and to the sides of the table.

The backward movement of the press as it is being raised or lowered is prevented by the triangular block 9, which is secured to the rear end of the table in any convenient manner. The front surface of this block is preferably concaved to present a good broad surface to the lower edge of the press, which is preferably made rounding. Then the press has been raised to permit of the removal of one plate and the emptying of the covette for the formation of another-plate, it is prevented from falling over backward by means of the braces 10 10, which are secured to the free ends of the press by means of thebolts 8, and

to the table at their lower ends by means of links 11 11 and a rod 12. The lower ends of these braces are rounded and fit in correspondingly-concaved portions 13 of the table, which permits of the free movement of the braces as the press is moved up and down. As the links 7 7 are about four inches thick and the braces 10 10 are secured outside of them, this will cause the braces to be about four inches from the edges of the press at the top, while they are each about sixinches away from it at the bottom, and will thus cause them to act as lateral braces and prevent any sidewise movement of the press. The position of the lower ends of the braces in relation to the other parts of the press and table may be varied by means of the triangular block or abutment 14, which is held in any desired position by means of set-screws 15 15. After a plate of glass has been formed by pressing upon the casting-table by letting the press descend until itrests upon the side strips and the surplus glass, if any has been forced over the edge of the table, as is done with a roller, the press is raised into its vertical position, and the plate of glass is forced into the mouth of the furnace by means of a flat bar 16, which can be moved back and forth over the top of the table by means of the cogged racks 17 17, and the cog-wheels 18, and the shaft 19. These racks move along at the sides of the table and carry the bar 16 with them as the ends of the bar are secured to the ends of the racks in any convenient manner. By making the bar of the thickness as the side gages it acts as a guide or stop for preventing the escape of the glass in that direction when the press gradually exerts its force upon it. p

Instead of making both faces of the press parallel, I prefer to make one surface slightly convexthat is, about eight inches thick at the ends and about twelve inches thick at the middle-so that when desired the press can be reversed and used as a rocker.

As the press and table should be kept as warm as possible to prevent chilling the glass, and also to prevent expansion and to keep the oxygen from the press, we inclose them in a sheet-iron furnace 20, the upper hinged section of which will be raised and lowered with the press, and thus not interfere with the depositing and removing of the glass from the table.

The press is constructed at the mouth of the annealing-furnace or leer 21, in which is a movable platform 22, which receives the glass asit is pushed off the casting-table by the bar 16; but as it is passing from the table to the platform, the plate is preferably subjected to the action of wooden blocks, which are arranged to slide over the topand bottom, and thus give it a polished surface, and which will also tend to remove any \vaves'that might possibly be formed in the plate, and thus permit of the plate being made thinner, as it does not need to be ground and polishedto get rid of the unevenness of the surface.

The platform preferably consists of a plate of iron covered with plaster and is supported upon two carriers or carriages 24 24, the bottom of each of which is provided with an inverted-V-shaped channel or groove 25, which fits upon a series of beveled wheels 26 26, which are journaled within channels 27 27 in the bottom or floor of the furnace about five or six feet apart. The top of each carrier is provided with transverse grooves 28 28, having one face of each groove perpendicular and the opposite face inclined, and the bottom of the platform is provided with corresponding projections 29 29, one face of each of which is perpendicular and the opposite face is inclined.

The platform and carriages are drawn back and forth through the furnace by means of the wires or cables 30 30, which are wound upon the drum 31 at the end of the furnace opposite the press. By connecting the cables directly with the platform, as shown in Fig. 4, when the platform is drawn in one direction as toward the press the perpendicular sides of the projections will engage with perpendicular walls of the grooves across the tops of the carriages and draw the carriages along with the platform; but when the platform is drawn in the opposite direction the inclined faces of the projections will slide up the inclined faces of the grooves, and thus raise the platform. To prevent the platform from being thus drawn entirely off the carriages,-each carriage is connected with its corresponding cable by means of a short link or piece of cable 32, which after the platform has moved a certain distance will become taut and draw the carriages along with the platform. In this manner the platform and its load can be raised 05 of the bottom of the kiln or furnace and be drawn along to any desired point where the plate is to be deposited for annealing it. If the platform should not slide up theinclined faces of the carriages, but should draw the carriages along by friction instead of by the short pieces of cable 32,

the carriages can be held stationary by means 1 of the cables 33, which are secured to the opposite ends of the carriages, and held until the platform has been raised and the pieces of cable 32 been drawn taut and carry the carriages along with the platform. After a plate has been formed on the press and deposited upon the platform the drum at the opposite end of the furnace is rotated, and the platform and plate are drawn through the furnace as far as desired, and the plate, as indicated in dotted lines at 34, is pushed off the platform onto the bottom portion 35 of the furnace, which is preferably formed of brick and covered with fine sand. Successive plates 36 are thus formed and drawn into the furnace and deposited upon the floor until the furnace is filled, when it is left until the plates have been thoroughly annealed, which generally takes several days. After a plate has been deposited upon the floor 35 it is covered with sand, which is sifted upon it from a large pan 37 in the top of the kiln directly over it, there being enough pans in the kiln so that each plate can be covered, no difference where the plate has been deposited. A piece of sheet-iron 38 is placed in the bottom of each pan, being provided with holes which can be made to register with corresponding holes in the bottom of the pan, and thus let the sand run through when the piece of sheet-iron is moved, or the imperforated portion can be made to cover the holes in the bottom of the pan and prevent the sand running through. In this manner the glass plates can be inclosed in a bath of sand while they are being annealed, and thus secure the most beneficial results. After the plates have been properly annealed they are drawn out of the openings 39 39 at one side of the furnace, the openings being provided with the ordinary doors for closing them while the interior is being heated and cooled, the opposite side of the kiln being provided with the ordinary reverberatory furnaces 40 40.

Having thus described our invention, but without limiting ourselves to the exact construction shown, we claim 1. The combination, with a casting-table for making plateglass, of a press above the same, consisting of a flat piece of iron or steel pivotally secured at one end to the table, and means for moving the other end toward or from the table, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a casting-table having a triangular block across one end, of a press pivotally secured to the table adjacent to the block and. having its end resting against said block, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with a casting-table for making plate-glass, of a press pivotally secured thereto at one end, and braces for holding the press in a vertical position, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with a casting-table for making plate-glass, of a press pivotally secured thereto at one end, braces for holding the press in a vertical position, ablock or support forthe lower ends of the braces, and an adjustable brace for securing the support in any desired position, substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a casting-table for making plate-glass, of a press pivotally secured theretoat one end by means of links, braces pivotally secured to the opposite end of the press at one end and to the table at the other end by means of links, and a rod or shaft for operating the press, secured to the free end thereof by means of links, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with a casting-table for making plate-glass, of a reversible press above the same, one surface of which is slightly c011- vex, whereby it may be used as a rocker, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a casting-table, of a press above the same, a toothed rack on each side of the table, a bar across the table, having its ends secured to the racks, and gearwheels for operating the racks, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the casting-table and press for making'pressed glass, of a sheetiron furnace having a hinged upper section adapted to be operated by the mechanism for operating the press,'substantiallyas described.

9. The combination, with a furnace, of a casting-table and press at one end of a plat form within the furnace, carriages for supporting the platform, and means for moving the platform and carriages to and from the table and press, substantially as described.

10. The combination, with a furnace, of a casting table and press at one end and a drum at the other end, a movable platform within the furnace, and cables for connecting the platform with the drum, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS R. SETTLES. GEORGE H. SOHMITT.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. FLIoK, ROBERT BRASHEAR. 

